Would you rather fly Boeing or Airbus on the longest flight in the world?

That's the question one airline is grappling with for its 20-hour nonstop flights

Qantas Airways Ltd. is cranking up the rivalry between Boeing Co. and Airbus SE in the hunt for aircraft to undertake unprecedented 20-hour trips halfway around the world.

The Australian airline plans to fly non-stop from Sydney to New York and London by 2022, marathon routes that will be the world’s longest commercial services. As the two aerospace giants pitch to supply planes for the flights, Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce is squeezing the arch-rivals for every dollar to make ‘Project Sunrise,’ as he calls it, viable.

Amplifying competition for plane orders is standard practice in what’s largely a two-player manufacturing